--- title: "Abiotic Factor Save Location: Local Worlds and Server Saves" description: "Abiotic Factor saves to %LocalAppData%\\AbioticFactor\\Saved\\SaveGames\\\\Worlds. Where servers keep worlds, backups, and moving a save to Cascade." url: "https://www.gameserverkings.com/knowledge-base/abiotic-factor/abiotic-factor-save-location/" category: "Abiotic Factor" category_url: "https://www.gameserverkings.com/knowledge-base/abiotic-factor/" published: "2026-09-28T03:14:09.224Z" updated: "2026-09-28T03:14:09.224Z" source_format: "markdown" site: "GameServerKings" --- # Abiotic Factor Save Location: Local Worlds and Server Saves The Abiotic Factor save location on a Steam PC is `%LocalAppData%\AbioticFactor\Saved\SaveGames\\Worlds\`. Every folder in there is one world. On a dedicated server, worlds live in `AbioticFactor\Saved\SaveGames\Server\Worlds\` inside the server install, and the server loads the folder named **`Cascade`** unless it is told otherwise. This page covers both locations, where your character actually lives (inside the world, not beside it), the automatic backups, and how to move a world onto a server. It also covers the one GSK-specific catch: the folder has to be called `Cascade`. > [!NOTE] Checked against Abiotic Factor **v1.4.0.28206** > Hotfix of 27 July 2026, with Deep Field Games' dedicated server wiki as last edited on 13 July 2026. ## Where Abiotic Factor saves your world | Save | Path | |---|---| | Your worlds (solo and hosted co-op, Steam) | `%LocalAppData%\AbioticFactor\Saved\SaveGames\\Worlds\\` | | Worlds on a dedicated server | `(Server Install)\AbioticFactor\Saved\SaveGames\Server\Worlds\\` | | Server admin list | `(Server Install)\AbioticFactor\Saved\SaveGames\Server\Admin.ini` | | A world's sandbox settings | `SandboxSettings.ini`, inside that world's folder | To get there on Windows, press **Win + R**, paste `%LocalAppData%\AbioticFactor\Saved\SaveGames`, and press Enter. You will see a folder named with a 17-digit number. That is your SteamID64. Open it, then `Worlds`. Deep Field Games' own example path is `%LocalAppData%\AbioticFactor\Saved\SaveGames\76561198053306820\Worlds\`. **Your character is saved inside the world.** Abiotic Factor has no separate character slot. A scientist exists per world, and a client who joins someone else's world has their character stored in *that host's* world save. That is why Deep Field Games added a **Server Profile** option to the Escape menu. From there a client can delete their own character on a server. The host can't, and has to remove their own character from the world save on disk. It is also why copying the world folder carries everyone's progress along with it. ### On a GSK server Everything sits under `/home/container`, so the world your server runs is at: ```text /home/container/AbioticFactor/Saved/SaveGames/Server/Worlds/Cascade/ ``` Open it from the **Files** tab. `Cascade` is the game's default world name. Our startup command doesn't pass `-WorldSaveName`, and there is no world-name field on the **Startup** tab, so the server always loads `Cascade`. If you want a different world live, give *its* folder that name (see below). ## Backups the game makes for you Since Community Update #1, Abiotic Factor keeps **up to 5 world backups in your save folder, taking a new one every 30 minutes**. Backups are deliberately **not** synced to Steam Cloud, so a bad cloud sync can't eat them too. If the game detects a damaged world on load, it offers to use a backup, and a **Restore Backup** button appears. The same system runs on dedicated servers. Deep Field Games: *"Upon launching your server, a red message will print out informing you if a world save was corrupted and a backup was swapped in its place."* If your world looks like it jumped back in time after a restart, scroll up the **Console** tab for that red line before assuming anything else. The rotation had a bug in which only the first backup was ever replaced. It was fixed in Hotfix 1.0.0.20474 (August 2025) for both Steam and dedicated servers. On a server you also have the Admin panel's **Force World Save** button (see [Abiotic Factor Console Commands](/knowledge-base/abiotic-factor/abiotic-factor-console-commands/)) and the panel's own **Backups** tab, which snapshots the whole server. [How to create a backup](/knowledge-base/general/how-to-create-a-backup/) covers the panel side. Take a panel backup before you move or replace a world folder. > [!CAUTION] Check the timestamp before Steam Cloud overwrites anything > Deep Field Games' most repeated warning: if Steam asks whether to use your cloud save or your local one, pick the **newer** one. *"If you overwrite your save data with an older Steam Cloud version of your save file, WE CANNOT FIX THAT FOR YOU."* If you only ever play on one PC, you never want the cloud copy. ## Moving your world to a dedicated server Steam solo and co-op worlds run on a dedicated server unchanged. They only need to be in the right folder with the right name. 1. **Stop the server** from the **Console** tab, and take a backup if the server already has a world you care about. 2. On your PC, open `%LocalAppData%\AbioticFactor\Saved\SaveGames\\Worlds\` and find the world folder you want. 3. On the server, open `AbioticFactor/Saved/SaveGames/Server/Worlds/`. If there is already a `Cascade` folder, rename it (for example to `Cascade_old`) so you can go back. 4. Upload your world folder into `Worlds/` and **rename it to `Cascade`**. Deep Field Games' guide gives two options, rename to `Cascade` or pass `-WorldSaveName=`, and on a GSK server renaming is the one you control. Big worlds upload faster over [SFTP](/knowledge-base/general/how-to-upload-files-via-sftp/). 5. Start the server, join, and check your base and inventory. If the folder doesn't exist yet, start the server once so it creates `Server/Worlds/Cascade`, then stop it and follow the steps. > [!WARNING] Console and Game Pass worlds can't be moved > Deep Field Games: *"PS5, Xbox and Windows Gamepass Saves are not supported on dedicated servers."* Only Steam saves transfer. Xbox and PlayStation players can still *join* a dedicated server. They just can't bring their existing world to one. Going the other way works too: download the `Cascade` folder, drop it into your local `Worlds\` folder under any name you like, and it shows up in your world list. ## Resetting a world To start fresh on a server, stop it, rename or delete `Worlds/Cascade/`, and start it again. A new `Cascade` is generated. Renaming is safer than deleting because you can undo it. To reset one player instead of the whole world, have that player use **Server Profile → delete character** from the Escape menu while connected. Their inventory is dropped in a loot bag rather than deleted. ## Common Questions ### Where is the Abiotic Factor save file location on Steam Deck or Linux? Deep Field Games doesn't document a Linux path. The game runs under Proton there, and Proton keeps each game's Windows files in a separate prefix folder named after its App ID (427410 for Abiotic Factor) under `steamapps/compatdata/`. Inside that prefix, look for the same `AppData/Local/AbioticFactor/Saved/SaveGames/` folder as on Windows, usually under `pfx/drive_c/users/steamuser/`. ### Why does my server make a new world every time it starts? Because there is no folder called `Cascade` in `Server/Worlds/`. The server loads that exact name. If your uploaded world has any other name, the server creates a fresh `Cascade` next to it. ### Are characters saved separately from the world? No. Each world stores the characters of everyone who has played in it. Moving the world moves the characters. ### Where are the backups? In the save folder alongside the world. The game keeps up to five, 30 minutes apart, and doesn't upload them to Steam Cloud. ### Can I move a world from Xbox or PS5 to my server? No. Deep Field Games state that PS5, Xbox and Game Pass saves are not supported on dedicated servers. ## What to Read Next - [Abiotic Factor Console Commands: The Honest Answer](/knowledge-base/abiotic-factor/abiotic-factor-console-commands/): the Admin panel, Force World Save and `Admin.ini` - [Getting started with your Abiotic Factor server](/knowledge-base/abiotic-factor/abiotic-factor/): first boot and connecting - [How to upload files via SFTP](/knowledge-base/general/how-to-upload-files-via-sftp/): for large world folders --- Made with 💜 by GameServerKings